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Swedish Institute Sustainability Forum – SISF

Rethink the roles in society. Reinforce social dialogue for change. Regain a better world.

On 20-22 November 2017, the Swedish Institute Sustainability Forum 2017: Let’s Talk! took place at Runö, Sweden. 100 participants representing 39 countries from businesses, trade unions, government and civil society gathered during the Forum to explore possible ways to use social dialogue as a tool for positive change and to develop tangible solutions on issues relating to Decent work, Employment, Equality, Inclusion & Diversity and Governance & Anti-corruption.

SISF Let’s Talk was organised in a joint partnership between the Swedish Institute and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), and in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO). The theme ‘Let’s Talk!’ was inspired by the Global Deal Initiative with the intention of enhancing social dialogue to enable all people to benefit from globalisation. The Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven held a keynote speech during the Forum addressing the importance of social dialogues in today’s global society.

The outcomes of the Forum include 15 initiatives in which individuals who participated can continue to embark on joint efforts on an organisational, local, regional and international level. The full event report can be found here: Event Report – SISF 2017

SISF 2016 was organised 23 – 24 november, this year in content collaboration with International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), Centre for Responsible Business, India, with input from Mistra Financial Systems. The theme of the year was ‘money talks – finance for a sustainable future’.

Close to 50 high-profile experts and leaders from the finance sectors of 17 countries gathered in the outskirts of Stockholm, to discuss and develop concrete initiatives for global sustainability, with the finance sector as an enabler

SISF 2015 was organised 5 – 7 october, this year in content collaboration with the Swedish Energy Agency. The theme of the year was ‘Energy is social’.

Close to 50 high-profile experts and leaders from the energy sectors of 14 countries gathered in Lidingö, on the outskirts of Stockholm, to discuss global energy issues in urban and rural contexts.

During SISF 2015, 17 specified actionable ideas were generated and 4 initiatives were further developed, polished and structured:

The CampaignThe Campaign – #Icooledtheplanet was initiated with the primary aim to raise awareness of individual impacts on climate change and thus to encourage people to adapt new behaviours that are more sustainable. The Campaign also hopes to raise awareness of the relationship between the goals and consequences of the COP21 and individuals’ daily lives. As a consequence of a successful awareness-raising campaign, this initiative hopes to reach out to policymakers and revitalise commitments to combat climate change. The campaign will use existing social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and WeChat. In a simple message, an individual is encouraged to share an action on sustainable behaviour.

The Cash BoxThe Cash Box is a collective savings fund for local rural communities with the goal to increase accessibility to affordable and clean energy. The Cash Box is premised on the principles of self-help and partnerships among individuals with a common goal. It is envisaged that this initiative will instil a sense of responsibility and stimulate savings, not only for energy needs but for other needs too. Each Cash Box will offer a financing groundswell using customised approaches depending on the need and geographical location. On a rotational basis, individuals will organise themselves into groups to agree on purchasing items (such as solar lamps and cooking stoves) and the financial contributions from each member.

The Consortium (Act2Energize)Act2Energize is a non-profit consortium which connects incubators from different countries in a network through an online platform. The purpose of Act2Energize is to form a global network of incubators and start-ups. Act2Energize’s ambitions are to provide local incubators with an insight into how incubators operate in other countries, increase international opportunities for local start-ups and projects within the field of sustainable energy and facilitate knowledge sharing of common start-up successes and failures. Communication and knowledge sharing will be facilitated through an online platform.The Green FundThe Green Fund is a practical and easy way to collect money from individuals, government, corporates or global institutions for investment in sustainable energy projects. The Green Fund is an initiative that aims to support individuals in need to improve their living situation from an energy perspective. The Green Fund is designed to focus on investments in sustainable energy technologies. This initiative will launch as a non-profitable fund during the start-up phase. The Fund hopes to gradually transit into a social enterprise that will return low and moderate profits to its investors. The funding will primarily be collected from two main sources: crowd-funding and relevant institutions.

The main aim of the forum was to develop possible ways of addressing some current challenges of how to be and stay a responsible employer, with the purpose of helping organisations deal effectively with some of the key challenges, thereby – and in other ways – helping society to handle these challenges more successfully.

In the process leading up to the forum, relevant stakeholders and participants were consulted on the most pressing issues under the theme: ‘Being a Responsible Employer’. The following four focus areas were selected to frame the discussions of the forum:

The aim of the Forum was to develop possible ways of addressing some current sustainability challenges within the extractive and forestry sectors, with the purpose of helping companies in these sectors to deal more effectively with these challenges, and thereby – and in other ways – helping society to handle these challenges in a more successful way.